Endoscopic endonasal surgery of trigeminal schwannoma extending into the infratemporal fossa

Abstract

To investigate the feasibility of removing extracranial trigeminal schwannomas located in the infratemporal fossa by using a purely endoscopic endonasal approach. From November 2004 to July 2009, 8 patients with extracranial trigeminal schwannomas located in the infratemporal fossa (4 male patients and 4 female patients, age ranged 31 - 62 years) were surgically treated by using a purely endoscopic endonasal approach. The maximum diameters of the tumors ranged from 3 to 7 cm. All tumors were completely removed. The operation time was 40 to 120 min, blood loss was 300 to 1500 ml. The clinical symptoms of some patients were relieved or improved. There were no intraoperative and postoperative complications, no deaths in this series. No relapse happened during the follow-up. The purely endoscopic endonasal approach may provide a minimally invasive and safe approach to remove extracranial trigeminal schwannomas extending into the infratemporal fossa. Radical resection is associated with an excellent long-term outcome in this series.